Dusted

Statement:

“The natural elements of prosperity seem concentrated in profusion seldom found. In our primitive simplicity we reasoned that if we could take ores from the mountains and reduce them to gold and silver with which to pay for labor and purchase the productions of the valleys, a community could be established in the country independent of foreign resources. The result will show the success or failure of this Utopian scheme.”

– Charles D. Poston, Building a State in Apache Land 1878

Manifest destiny, this paradoxical idea of conquest has taken over the land, and has been a continuing motto of America throughout history. The ideas and virtues of early settlers were brought to the West with the hope of utopia and grandeur for themselves, but as they expand they continue to leave dust in their wake. Manifest destiny flourished within the mining industry as they moved across the country building and cutting these minerals from the mountains, but what happens when the gold goes and its cost outweighs its profit? “Dusted” questions this history of the manifest destiny by looking into the impact of mining and what is left behind after the this cyclical process has ended and moved on to the next place.

All photographs created over 2019-current